Yugioh 5Ds: Dark Horizons
by IlluminatiKOTE
Summary: (On Hiatus) Tawai Wakari is traveling to Neo Domino City to visit his closest friend. But when he arrives he will face the biggest challenge of his life. Follow the story that is an alternate reality from the show, but keeps many of the elements.
1. Arrival

Yugioh 5ds: Dark Horizons

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

"The ferry should be arriving at Neo Domino City in a few minutes, please gather your belongings and prepare to depart." A voice over the intercom says as the ferry cruises through the waters.

The people on board begin to lift their luggage and head towards the part of the ferry where they will depart. As everyone does so, a figure is seen leaning on the railings at the front of the ferry looking towards the metropolis. The figure is a young man of 18 wearing a long sleeved black high collared jacket over a yellow shirt. He is wearing black pants and yellow boots. His black hair is spiked up and has eerie yellow eyes. The figure is also wearing headphones. He seems to be nodding his head up and down to the beat of the song playing in his ears.

As the city grows closer and closer the teen rummages around in his jacket pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. He unfolds it and begins to read its contents to himself.

_Dear Taiwa,_

_It's been awhile, how's everything going? I'm doing good, taking life a day at a time. Well the reason I'm writing is to invite you to this get together where I live in Neo Domino City. There is going to be this party with some of our classmates from Duel Academy. It should be fun, so get down here. Talk to you later man._

_Your friend_

_Yusha Tatsujin_

'Wow Yusha, I haven't seen you in a few years…. ever since our graduation duel.' Taiwa smiles thinking back. 'I wonder how you've chan-."

Taiwa is suddenly interrupted by a tug at his jacket causing him to turn around pull out one of his headphones and come face to face with one of the ferry workers.

"Excuse me sir, we have arrived at our destination." the worker informs Taiwa with an annoyed look on his face.

"Oh ok, sorry"

Taiwa quickly lifts his backpack, throws it over his shoulder and begins to leave the ferry. He runs down the ramp and onto the pier. He catches up to the other passengers and slows down to a walking pace. Taiwa's eyes widen as he glances at the tall skyscrapers of Neo Domino City.

'This place is huge…' Taiwa thinks to himself as he walks down the street.

Taiwa pulls out a ticket from a pocket in his backpack and begins to read it. He stares at it for a few seconds then looks left and right confused.

"You're not from around here are you sonny." a voice says.

Taiwa quickly turns to see a small elderly woman smiling at him. He pulls one of his headphones out of his ear and smiles back.

"Is it that obvious?" he asks.

"Yea, but don't worry I'll help you find what you are looking for."

Taiwa relieved by this shows the woman his ticket. She scans it very fast then turns her back towards the teen.

"You will have to take a left here, and then walk 3 blocks and then take a right at the light; it will be the first building on your right." The woman informs non-saliently.

"Ummm…ok?" Taiwa replies confused as the woman hands him back the ticket.

"But if you want I can take you there myself."

"Oh, can you?"

"Sure, I always like to help tourists." the woman says as she snatches the ticket out of Taiwa's hand.

The woman begins to walk down the block as Taiwa follows.

"Ummm, I didn't even get your name." Taiwa asks politely

"It's Yuuyou sonny, and what's your name?"

"Taiwa…Taiwa Wakari."

"Taiwa ehh?" Yuuyou says aloud as she navigates Taiwa through the crowd of people on the Neo Domino City streets. "So what brings you out to our city?"

"I'm visiting a friend from when we were in school." Taiwa smiles "It's been a few years, so it was worth coming all the way from Onkyou."

Yuuyou nods her head as she stops in front of a building. Taiwa stops along side her and looks up at the large gray building with "Customs Storage" in big letters on the face.

"Well here you go sonny, the place where they store the foreign shipments before their owners arrive." Yuuyou exclaims as she hands Taiwa back his ticket. "It must be pretty valuable, for you to bring it all the way here"

"Yea…very valuable." Taiwa answers as his right hand passes over a bulge on his right side underneath his jacket. "Well, I should be getting inside. Thanks for all your help Yuuyou I'll be seeing you around hopefully."

"No problem sonny, take care."

Taiwa waves goodbye to his guide as he runs up the steps of the building and pushes the glass door open. As he walks in he stops and surveys the area.

"Can I help you sir?" a voice calls out.

Taiwa turns his attention to the source of the question. He sees a woman sitting at a desk marked "information".

"Yes, I'm here to pick up my things" Taiwa responds as he hands the receptionist his ticket.

The receptionist breezes through the information before looking up at him.

"Ahhh yes." the receptionist spins her seat turning her back on Taiwa as she looks up at a wall of hanging keys.

After a few seconds she grabs one of them and spins her seat so she's facing the teen again.

"Take the elevator upstairs." the woman says as she points to the elevators "And the guard there will assist you when you arrive."

Taiwa takes the key from the receptionist and nods thanking her. He turns around and heads for the elevator. He pushes the button opening the chrome doors of the elevator before walking in. The doors close as Taiwa pushes the button to his floor. As the elevator moves up Taiwa puts his headphones back in his ears, sighing deeply.

'What a trip.' Taiwa thinks to himself as he looks at his reflection in the chrome doors 'But for some reason I feel this visit will change my life.'

The elevator doors open suddenly breaking Taiwa out of his thoughts. He steps out and looks around for the guard he was told of.

"Hello?" Taiwa yells looking around for anyone.

The halls of this floor are poorly lit and vacant which lead to a wide open space that resembles a parking lot. Not seeing the guard around, he begins to walk down the corridor. He looks down at the key in his hand with a plastic tag with the number 35 marked on it. After a few seconds of walking and navigating he finally finds the hall where the giant locker holding his stuff is located.

'Sooo, my locker should be around this corner.' Taiwa thinks to himself as he walks.

All of a sudden Taiwa stops in the middle of the parking lot like he was frozen with fear.

'There's someone or something around this corner.'

Taiwa slowly pokes his head around the corner being cautious of the unknown that may appear. Once he sees the close is clear he walks forward.

'Huh, must have been my imagination.'

Taiwa confidently paces toward his locker. As he draws closer his eyes widen as he notices a slit in the door to his locker. The door was unlocked and was cracked open. His eyes widen with shock at this discovery.

'I think someone is inside…Concentrate…'

Taiwa closes his eyes and stays perfectly still until he hears the faint rustling going on inside his locker. His eyes quickly reappear as he turns the knob throwing the door open.

"What the-."

A blur sweeps by the corner of Taiwa's eyes causing the teenager to rotate his head in its direction. He lays his eyes on a man, donned in a black cloak, running down the lot; a shadow without a body.

"Hey, hold it!"

Taiwa runs quickly inside his dark locker. The grumbling start of an engine rings as two luminous eyes pierce through the darkness. A motor bike speeds out with Taiwa on board. He navigates his way through the lot until he finally catches up with the shadow. The apparition turns back to see its pursuer. The shadow finally comes to a stop as it runs itself into a dead end.

"I've got you now!"

Taiwa slows up and flashes his high beams toward the dead end. The shadow stands there shielding its eyes like it was in pain.

"Who are you? Why were you in my locker?" Taiwa interrogates.

The cloaked figure doesn't answer. Taiwa's eyes squint as he tries to peer inside the black hole that the hood was engulfing, but sees nothing…just a void. The figure slowly brings its arm down. Using its right hand, it rolls up the left sleeve revealing a duel disc that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The figure pulls out a deck and inserts it inside the contraption, activating it.

"Hmm, you want to duel huh…" Taiwa says smirking as he pushes a button on his bike causing a duel disc to latch onto his left arm.

Taiwa climbs off his bike and flaps up the back of his jacket revealing two cases. He digs into one, plucking out a deck of cards.

"If that's what you want then fine, I'm game." Taiwa inserts the deck, activating the duel disc, "And once I defeat you I expect all my questions to be answered."

"If you don't mind I'll go first." a groggy voice says to Taiwa's surprise.

"Huh, so you do talk, ok then go ahead."

Both duelists draw their first five cards causing a light on both combatants' duel discs to show "4000 LP"

The cloaked man draws his first card.

"First I'll summon my Shadow Knight in attack mode." The shadow says as he lays down the monster card.

Suddenly a knight with black armor appears from the hologram generator on the duel disc. (1400 Atk)

"Then I'll set one card face down, and end my turn."

"Ok it's my go, I draw." Taiwa draws a card from his deck and glances at it. "I'll summon my Echo-Lancer Reverbera to the field."

Taiwa lays down the card as a mechanical android woman appears. (1600 atk)

"Attack with reverberating rush."

Reverbera charges forward at a high speed towards the knight. A vibrating sound is heard while it runs. The mechanical woman speeds past the knight and stops behind it. The knight looks back before looking down. Its metal armor begins to vibrate uncontrollably. The vibrating quickly begins to intensify until the knight explodes.

The cloaked man shields his eyes as the blast throws up dust and debris. The life point counter on his duel disc decreases. (3800 LP)

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

An evil laugh is heard coming from the cloaked man. Taiwa's eyes focus on him as he lowers his arm.

"Fool, you played right into my hands." the man says.

"What are you talking about?"

"I activate Shadow Knight's special ability; during the end phase when this monster is destroyed in battle I can send the top three cards from my deck to special summon a level three or lower monster from my hand."

Taiwa's jaw tightens as the cloaked man sends the top three cards from his deck and grabs a card from his hand.

"Come out Shadow Bandit."

Suddenly a black void appears in the ground as a figure donned in black holding a dagger emerges in defense mode. (500 Def)

"Draw…." The man draws his card and chuckles, pleased with the pull "First, I activate the magic card Shadow Switch."

"Shadow Switch?"

"Yes, this magic card switches the position of all the monsters on the field and all I have to do is send the top two cards from my deck to the graveyard."

The cloaked man sends the two cards to the graveyard as a shadow appears from the magic card. It ensnares Reverbera as the monster grunts trying to shake itself loose.

Reverbera is changed to defense mode. (1000 Def)

"Now my Bandit is in attack mode." The bandit stands up (1300 Atk) "Then I summon Shadow Destroyer!"

A giant robot with spiked arms appeared next to the Shadow Bandit. (2000 Atk)

'2000 attack?' Taiwa thinks to himself surprised at the strength of the monster.

"Now my Destroyer, crush Reverbera."

Shadow Destroyer winds its arms back and slams them on top of the machine monster, dissipating it into dust.

Taiwa shields his eyes when all of a sudden his life points drop. (3000 LP)

"What? Why did my life points drop?"

"My Shadow Destroyer's special ability, when it attacks a monster whose defense points are lower than my Destroyer's attack points you lose the difference." The cloaked man explains with a groggy chuckle.

"Fine, then I'll activate _my_ monster's effect, when Reverbera is destroyed as a result of battle, the controller of the monster that destroyed it loses life points equal to the attacking monster's level times 300"

"What?"

"And since your Destroyer is a level four monster, you lose 1200 life points." Taiwa exclaims with a grin on his face.

A glow is seen coming from Taiwa's duel disc. A transparent Reverbera floats behind him.

"Now feel the after shock of my monster!"

As Taiwa says this, Reverbera jumps in the air and lets out a sound wave from the speakers in its hands. The waves strike the cloaked duelist causing him to cover his ears. (2600 LP)

"You think that your little monsters can stop me? My Bandit will ATTACK!"

Shadow Bandit suddenly disappears causing Taiwa to look left and right for it.

'Where did it g-.' Taiwa begins to think when a sharp pain is felt in his back.

Taiwa lets out a painful yell as the bandit is seen behind the duelist. (1700 LP)

Shadow Bandit pulls its dagger out of Taiwa's back and jumps in the air returning to the cloaked duelist's side of the field.

'Why did that hurt me?' Taiwa thinks as he breathes heavily 'This isn't an ordinary duelist' "I reveal my face-down Backup Call, this trap card lets me special summon a monster from my deck equal to or less than the battle damage that I take."

The cloaked duelist stays silent as a card sticks out from Taiwa's deck.

"Come out Ampli-Flyer!"

Taiwa places the card on the duel disc. A mechanical eagle soars from the hologram generator and lets out a screech. (1100 Atk)

"I'm supposed to be afraid of a bird? Please, I end my turn by sending two monsters from my deck to the graveyard to keep Shadow Destroyer on the field." The cloaked duelist mocks as he sends two cards to the graveyard.

'He keeps sending cards to his graveyard, what is he planning?' Taiwa thinks as he draws a card 'Whatever it is I have to try and end this quick' "I summon my Echo-Lancer Treble in attack mode."

A purple and black colored mechanical lion appears on the field. (1500 Atk) Suddenly wires appear from Ampli-Flyer and attach to the back of Treble.

"What is this?" the cloaked duelist asks confused.

"When my Ampli-Flyer is face up on the field all Echo-Lancer monster's get a 500 attack point boost." Taiwa explains as electricity is pumped from the wires into Treble, who lets out a roar (2000 Atk) "Treble attack that Bandit."

Treble cocks its head back and unleashes a mighty roar letting out a very high pitch sound wave that collides with the Shadow Bandit. The cloaked duelist covers his ears once again as his life points decrease. (1900 LP)

"Since you destroyed my Bandit I can activate its special ability, we both get to discard two monsters from our hands to the graveyard."

Taiwa grimaces as each duelist takes a card from their hands and discards it.

"I end my turn by placing two face downs."

"I draw!" the cloaked duelist draws his card and stares at it.

Suddenly the duelist begins to let out a villainous laugh that causes Taiwa to wonder what he drew.

"I release my Shadow Destroyer to bring out my Shadow Ghoul!"

The destroyer becomes engulfed in darkness until its form changes into that of a ghastly creature. (1600 Atk)

'Shadow Ghoul? So that was his plan' Taiwa thinks as he looks on nervously.

"My Ghoul gains 100 attack points for every monster in my graveyard, and I count ten"

The attack points of the Ghoul slowly increase till it hits 2600.

"Shadow Ghoul, destroy Treble with shadow claw!" the cloaked duelist commands as Shadow Ghoul's nails grow longer.

Shadow Ghoul's arms extend and slash at Treble, destroying it. Taiwa's life points go down as his monster goes to the graveyard. (1100 LP)

"You just activated Treble's ability, the monster that battles with it is changed into defense position at the end of the battle phase." Taiwa says in relief.

"Well not if I activate the quick play spell card, Shadow Negation." The cloaked duelist responds by activating the card from his hand "This card lets me negate the monster effect of any monster at the cost of three monsters from my deck."

Shadow Ghoul roars as three more cards are sent from the deck to the grave yard. (2900 Atk)

"Yes my Shadow Ghoul, feed off the life of the others." The cloaked duelist laughs maniacally "Go ahead Taiwa, draw your last pathetic card."

A serious look comes over Taiwa's face as he places his hand on his deck ready to draw. He closes his eyes.

'Answer my call my friends… come through.' Taiwa says to himself as he draws his card.

He opens his eyes to look then turns to his opponent.

"Unlike you, I respect the cards in my deck and not use them as sacrifices for one monster, each card is important to the victory." Taiwa says as he points to his opponent "I'll show you what I mean with this!"

"You LIE!" the cloaked duelist says nervously.

"Does this look like a lie? I summon the tuner monster Echo-Lancer Resonance."

A mechanical android, similar to Reverbera but a male version, appears. (1400 Atk) The cloaked duelist looks on silently but suddenly bursts out with a laugh.

"You expect that thing to take down my monster?"

"By itself no, but together my monsters can take down anything." Taiwa responds as he pushes a button on the duel disc activating a card already on the field. "I activate the magic card Chord, with this I can special summon an Echo-Lancer monster from my graveyard with the same level as another on the field."

"What?"

"And since Resonance is a level three monster, I can summon Reverbera from my graveyard"

A light appears on the ground in front of Taiwa as Reverbera ascends onto the field. (1600 Atk)

"Now, I tune my level three Resonance to my level three Reverbera."

Resonance suddenly disappears into three glowing spheres that begin to surround Reverbera.

"The sound of the wicked threaten the innocent. Silence it with your hand of death."

The spheres turn into rings that pass over Reverbera again and again until its form begins to change.

"Synchro Summon! Appear now Echo-Lancer Master Mute!" Taiwa yells as Reverbera completes its transformation. (2400 Atk)

The new monster begins to descend from the sky. It is wearing a black hooded cloak that covers its face, and is wielding a scythe. When its feet touch the floor crimson eyes and a crimson X where the mouth should be is seen through the darkness of the hood.

"Heh, impressive, but your synchro monster doesn't compare to my Shadow Ghoul." The cloaked duelist says as the ghoul lets out a roar.

Taiwa just stands there with a serious face looking at his opponents and his monster.

"Master Mute…Silent Sphere."

Master Mute lifts its arm as a mechanical skeletal hand appears from the sleeves of the cloak. It points its index finger to its X mouth as the crimson eyes grow brighter. The entire duel field is quickly engulfed in a dark dome. The cloaked duelist looks left and right. The traffic that was heard outside is now a dead silence.

'What's going on?' the cloaked duelist says in his head.

'Master Mute's special ability, as long as this card is face up on the field every monster effect is negated, except for Master Mute of course.' Taiwa says through a psychic-like link with the duelist.

The cloaked duelist looks surprised at Taiwa as he hears him in his head. He then turns to see his monster. As it is shrinking it loses attack points. (1600 Atk)

'And now this is the end for you, I reveal my last face down Voice from the Afterlife.' Taiwa says as he pushes another button on the duel disc 'This trap lets me remove an Echo-Lancer monster from play to increase another Echo-Lancer on the field by the removed monster's attack…and I choose Reverbera.'

Master Mute grabs its scythe with both hands as its attack increases (4000 Atk)

'Go Master Mute; destroy Shadow Ghoul with Silent Slaying.'

Master Mute flies through the air and swipes at the ghoul slashing it into pieces. The impact of the destruction causes a back lash that hits the cloaked duelist causing him to fall on his knees. (0 LP)

Taiwa takes a deep breath as the holograms disappears leaving the two duelists alone.

"Now, it's time for you to answer some questions." Taiwa says as he walks over to his opponent.

An evil laugh is heard coming from the cloaked duelist. Hearing this, Taiwa stops a few feet from him.

"Just as I expected from you…Taiwa Wakari."

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"No need to worry about that, everything will come to light soon enough." the cloaked duelist says, "We'll meet again…"

Taiwa becoming annoyed goes to grab him when the dark cloak that the duelist was wearing slithers off of him like a snake.

"What the…"

The cloak merges with the surrounding shadows as it makes its get away.

'What was all of that about?'

A groan is heard from underneath Taiwa. He looks down to a man wearing a uniform that reads "Customs Security".

'Oh so that's where the security guy was.' Taiwa says to himself as he kneels down to help the man.

The man opens his eyes to see Taiwa there.

"Wh—who are you?"

'He doesn't remember anything…oh well it's for the best'

Taiwa helps the man up then explains who he is and lies about what happened. The security guard buys the story and goes downstairs. Taiwa hops on his D-Wheel and puts on his helmet. He revs the engine and heads off to his friend's house.

'I can't get what that guy said to me back there out of my head.' Taiwa thinks as he rides through the streets of Neo-Domino City. 'I just hope this party can get my mind off of it till I figure something out.'

Taiwa turns on a street and parks his D-Wheel by the side of a building. He takes the envelope where the letter from Yusha was in and checks the return address.

'Yup, I'm at the right place.'

Taiwa gets off his D-Wheel, takes his helmet off and sets the security. He walks inside the building and walks up a flight of stairs to a door. Taiwa knocks on the door and calls out.

"Hey, Yusha it's me Taiwa…"

After a few more knocks and still a no answer Taiwa grabs the knob.

"Yusha di-." Taiwa stops what he is saying when he realizes that the door is unlocked.

He slowly pushes the door open as he peeks inside to see a dark apartment. He steps in cautiously checking the place out. The place looks ransacked with everything turned over.

'What the hell is going on?'

"TAIWA WAKARI!" a voice calls out over a megaphone outside.

Taiwa quickly turns his head towards the window and seeing blue and red lights slowly steps to it. To his surprise a squad of security cars and personnel are parked outside the building.

"TAIWA WAKARI YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE DISAPPEARANCE OF YUSHA TATSUJIN."


	2. On The Run

**Chapter 2: On The Run**

"TAIWA WAKARI YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE DISAPPEARANCE OF YUSHA TATSUJIN!" a voice over a megaphone calls out from outside.

'Disappearance?' Taiwa thinks surprised, 'What's going on?'

"WE KNOW YOU'RE UP THERE" the voice continues, "IF YOU'RE NOT COMING DOWN WILLINGLY, WE WILL BE FORCED TO GET YOU."

"Chief, we're awaiting your orders." a security officer says as he looks at his chief with the megaphone.

"Go get em'."

The officer nods his head as he and four other officers run towards the entrance of the building.

'I need to get out of here.' Taiwa thinks as he looks around the apartment.

The steps of the security become louder and louder as they gallop up the stairs like a stampede. Taiwa looks till he notices the window at the far end of the apartment with a fire escape. He runs towards it just as the door is kicked open.

"There he is!" one of the security points out.

"Stop! Security!" another security officer yells as he dashes at Taiwa.

Taiwa fumbles with the window as he struggles to get it open.

'Come on come on, open open open.'

Finally, the rusty window creaks open. Taiwa pushes it up all the way and sticks his head out when he feels a tug on his leg. He looks back to see the security officer holding his leg.

"You're not going anywhere!"

"Oh yes I am." Taiwa says as he tries to get loose, "Now let…GO!"

Taiwa, using his free leg, kicks the security officer in the face breaking his nose. The officer lets out a cry and releases Taiwa's leg to cover his bloody nose.

"You mother f-."

Taiwa quickly leaps out the window and onto the fire escape. He starts to climb down the ladder when the other officers stick their heads out the window.

"Halt or we'll shoot!" the officer demands as he and the two others take out their hand guns.

Ignoring the orders, Taiwa continues down the metal ladder. The officers begin to shoot at the teen as he tries to make his escape. Taiwa stops his descent as the bullets clang and ricochet off the metal bars of the fire escape. He closes his eyes hoping to not to get hit as he takes a step down the ladder. His foot slips on the metal causing Taiwa to lose balance. He opens his eyes as he falls. Taiwa plummets till he plops on top of a dumpster with a thud. The impact causes the teen to bounce off the metal top and onto the hard street.

"The suspect is on the west side of the building." the officer orders into his walkie, "Officers converge!"

Taiwa slowly gets to his knees. He covers his mouth as he coughs. He pulls his hand away from his mouth to see blood.

"Shit…" Taiwa says under his breath as he struggles to get on his feet.

He begins to gingerly run over to his D-Wheel that he parked there a few minutes ago. He climbs aboard and puts his helmet on getting ready to make a run for it. Taiwa pushes the button that starts the engine when he hears the security cars coming close.

'Come on come on.'

Taiwa revs his engine and drives off as his tires screech. He turns the corner and speeds down the street. Through the helmet's visor, Taiwa's eyes concentrate on the road and his get away when he hears the sirens. His focus is broken causing him to turn his head to see security cars chasing after him.

'Dammit, I have to lose them…but how?' Taiwa asks himself as he turns corner after corner through the semi-busy streets.

Neo-Domino city citizens stop and stare when Taiwa and the security pass by. The cars on the road all adhere to the sirens and pull to the side letting the teen have a clear straight path.

"Where is this guy headed?" an officer asks the chief who is driving in one of the cars.

"Hell if I should know, he's not from here so he shouldn't have anywhere to go." the chief answers as he slams his foot on the acceleration.

"Informing all officers," a voice on the security's radio calls out "there is an accident along Main Street causing bumper to bumper traffic."

"Shit, and that's where we're headed." the chief snarls as his frustration embodies his face.

Taiwa lifts his head as he sees straight lines of brake lights coming up ahead.

'Yes, just what I needed to get away.' Taiwa thinks to himself as he pushes down on the gas pedal.

"Sir…Sir we need to stop, the traffic is straight ahead." the officer informs.

"I know…." The chief responds still pursuing the D-Wheel.

"SIR!"

"Fine! All cars pull back." the chief orders as he slams on the brakes causing his car to screech trying to stop.

The other security car stops as well.

"Here I go!" Taiwa says as he maneuvers his D-Wheel between the lines of cars.

The chief and the other officers step out of their vehicles.

"I want a chopper following that punk YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" the chief yells into the microphone connected to his helmet.

"It's ok chief, I got this." a female voice answers over the frequency.

"Huh? Mikomi?"

All of a sudden a revved engine causes the chief to turn just to see a security bike use the other security car as a ramp to jump the chief's car. The bike hits the floor and continues the pursuit of Taiwa through the traffic.

"Whoa…" the other security officer says shocked.

Mikomi pushes the pedal until she finally sees Taiwa's D-Wheel in the distance.

"Mikomi stop right now!" the chief orders over the security frequency.

"Sorry chief I can't do that." Mikomi answers with a smile, "I'll be letting this guy get away."

"Mikomi…if you don't do as I command I will make sure you wi-." The chief begins to say before Mikomi pushes a button on her bike disconnecting the two.

"That's better."

Mikomi then presses another button that begins to dial a different number.

"Hello?" a voice on the other end says.

"Heyyyy, Eisei I'm in pursuit of a suspect and I need you to patch me through to their frequency."

"Mikomi?" Eisei says aloud before composing himself to a whisper, "Ohhhh no I'm not your personal secretary transferring you to different people and besides the chief would kill me if he found out, and another thing-."

"You know Eisei, in the time you're taking to bitch you could have finished getting me this guy's frequency." Mikomi interrupts smiling. "And don't worry bout the chief, I'll take the blame."

Eisei sighs and pauses for a second before answering unenthusiastically, "Fine, give me a sec."

'Good, while he does that I'm going to catch up to this little mouse.' Mikomi says to herself as she slowly creeps up on Taiwa.

'Ok, I think I lost them.' Taiwa thinks to himself before slightly turning his neck to see a security bike getting closer, 'What? You gotta be kidding me.'

Taiwa faces the front again and tries to lose the new pursuer.

"Got it." Eisei says quickly, "You're connected."

"Thanks Eisei, you're the best." Mikomi encourages before switching the frequency to Taiwa's. "Taiwa Wakari this is your last warning, pull over and surrender yourself."

The call startles Taiwa before he realizes what's happening.

"Why do I have to surrender? I didn't do anything." Taiwa responds.

"That's not what I heard, but have it your way; if you refuse I'm going to have to make you surrender by force."

Mikomi pushes the touch screen at the front of her bike activating the internal computer.

"Duel mode on…Speed World activated." the computer says.

The computer on Taiwa's D-wheel flashes on, catching the teen's attention as it says the same thing.

"I was afraid of that." Taiwa says as the duel disc activates, shuffling his deck.

The computers simultaneously emit a virtual aura that surrounds both bikes.

"Auto Pilot engaged." the computers say.

"For the last time, I didn't do anything." Taiwa says becoming agitated. "Why would I want to do anything to my best friend?"

"Well in my line of work friends are the ones that do the worst things to each other, friendship is an empty bond that is easily broken." Mikomi begins to say, "But if you insist that you're innocent prove it by defeating me and you'll go free."

A stern look comes over Taiwa's face, "Fine, let's do this."

Both duelists draw their first five cards as the computers flash "4000 life points".

"I'll let you start things off criminal." Mikomi says with a smile.

The word strikes Taiwa and makes him grit his teeth as he draws a card. He glances at the card and then pulls another one from the other five and places it on the duel disc in front of him.

"I'll summon my Echo-Lancer Treble in attack mode." Taiwa says as a portal appears alongside his D-Wheel.

Out of the portal emerges a mechanical lion who roars as it runs alongside Taiwa's D-Wheel (1500 Atk).

"I'll end my turn."

"My my what a cute little kitty cat." Mikomi insults as she draws a card, "Let's see what it can do against this!"

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 1 Mikomi 1**

"I'll summon Dewdark of the Ice Barrier in attack mode."

A portal appears on Mikomi's side as a ninja in a purple and blue jumpsuit leaps out. (1200 Atk)

'What is she up to?' Taiwa thinks to himself, befuddled as to why she has summoned a weaker monster.

"What's wrong criminal? You look confused." Mikomi sneers as she points to Taiwa, "Dewdark, attack!"

'Is she nuts?' Taiwa thinks as the ninja jumps in the air and throws ice kunai toward him, "Treble intercept that attack and destroy her monster."

On his orders, the mechanical lion pounces in the direction of the kunai to destroy them when the kunai maneuver around Taiwa's monster.

"What the!"

The ice kunai fly through the air and strike Taiwa in the back. The youngster grimaces as his life points drop. (2800 LP)

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 0 Mikomi 1**

With the decrease in speed, Mikomi's D-Wheel rides side to side with Taiwa's. The security officer turns to her suspect.

"Hello there, I finally get to see your face." Mikomi says as Taiwa recovers from the attack and looks at her. "Not bad."

"How… did you?" Taiwa begins to ask before being cut off.

"Hah, you underestimate me criminal." Mikomi laughs, "That's my monster's special ability, when the only monsters on my field have a level of two or lower, my Dewdark can attack you directly"

The two D-Wheels drive around the stalled cars until they finally make a turn onto a back street to get away from the traffic.

"I set a card face down and end my turn."

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 1 Mikomi 2**

"Now let's see how you bounce back on this turn criminal."

"I am no criminal!" Taiwa yells as he draws his card, "Come out Reverbera!"

Taiwa places the card down on the duel disc as a woman android appears in front of his D-Wheel next to Treble. (1600 Atk)

"Oooo getting a little heated I see." Mikomi instigates, "I like that, show me what you got!"

'She's trying to get me off my game.' Taiwa thinks as he stares at the duel screen to see the face down card on Mikomi's field, 'It has to be a trap, but I can't just sit here and wait.'

"Reverbera attack Dewdark with reverberating rush."

Reverbera dashes at the ninja ready to attack.

"Heh too predictable, I activate my trap." Mikomi says as she pushes a button revealing her face down, "Go, Dimensional Ice Mirror."

All of a sudden a mirror appears in front of her ninja as a reflection of Reverbera rushes toward the original. Taiwa's monster attacks the mirror just as the reflection attacks Reverbera. The attacks shatter the mirror causing the shards of glass to hit both duelists.

"What the hell was that?" Taiwa asks.

"My mirror negates your monster's attack, but we both take damage equal to half of its attack points." Mikomi informs with a smile, "Oh and it also ends the battle phase."

Taiwa stares at Mikomi before looking forward down the street as their life points drop.

**Lifepoints: Taiwa 2000, Mikomi 3200**

"I place one card face down." Taiwa says placing the card down and then pointing to Treble, "And then I activate Treble's special effect; once per turn I can choose one monster on my opponent's field and that monster can't attack or change its position until their end phase."

Mikomi turns to her opponent intrigued.

"Can you guess which monster I'm going to choose?" Taiwa asks sarcastically.

Mikomi doesn't say anything as she stares at him sternly as he smiles.

"Go Treble!"

The mechanical lion turns to Mikomi's ninja and lets out a loud roar that seemingly paralyzes the monster.

"I end my turn."

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 2 Mikomi 3**

"You think you're smart huh? I draw." Mikomi says drawing her card when her eyes widen from the card she just pulled, "Don't think just because you prevented me from attacking you directly that you have control of this duel."

Taiwa tightens the grip on the handles of his D-Wheel to brace himself for what is coming.

"I activate the effect of the Speed Unit of the Ice Barrier in my hand; by sending it to the graveyard I can special summon another Ice Barrier monster from my deck just for this turn." Mikomi informs Taiwa as she discards the card as another card comes out of her deck.

"Another monster?"

"Yup and I choose Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier."

Mikomi grabs the card from her deck and summons it. A sage with tattoos covering its arms appears next to her ninja. (1500 Atk)

"Next I summon Samurai of the Ice Barrier."

The security officer lays down another card as a blue samurai appears with her other two monsters. (1800 Atk)

"Are you ready criminal? I now tune my level two Dewdark to my level four Pilgrim."

Dewdark disappears into two rings around Pilgrim causing it to fade away until there are four stars inside the rings. A beam of light comes through the middle that causes Taiwa to shield his eyes.

'Don't tell me she's going to-.' Taiwa thinks to himself as he struggles to see through the light.

"Synchro summon! Bow down to Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier!"

Out of the light appears, with a thundering roar, a giant blue tiger dressed in royal armament and ice spikes growing out of its shoulders. (2000 Atk)

'This is going to be bad.'

Elsewhere…

"Someone get me a status report on officer Mikomi's pursuit of the suspect." the police chief orders as he and the rest of his officers start to make their way around the traffic.

"Chief, the copter has been sent out and should be catching up with the chase shortly." an officer informs over the radio.

"Good." the chief says as he maneuvers around the cars. 'Be careful Mikomi.'

Back to the duel…

"Dewloren destroy Treble with royal ice slash!"

The tiger pounces at the mechanical lion with claws extended.

"Not yet security, I activate my trap; Supersonic!"

"What?"

A face down card on Taiwa's side of the field appears and reveals itself. Treble looks at the leaping tiger and lets out a screeching sound from its mouth. The sound engulfs Dewloren stopping its attack while disorienting the beast.

"Supersonic lets me change your attack to another monster on my field." Taiwa explains, "And since I have only one other monster, your tiger will attack Reverbera."

Dewloren quickly looks to the android and pounces on top of it destroying the machine. Taiwa grimaces from the hit. (1600 LP)

"What a difference your trap made." Mikomi states sarcastically, "I still destroyed a monster and hit your life points."

"Well officer, it's you who is now underestimating me." Taiwa replies smiling as a transparent Reverbera appears alongside him.

"Wait, what's your monster doing back?"

"Whenever Reverbera is destroyed as a result of battle, the controller of that monster loses life points equal to the attacking monster's level x300."

Shock comes over the security officer's face.

"And since your cat is a level six monster you take 1800 points of damage, now go Reverbera!"

Reverbera dashes in front of Mikomi's D-Wheel and extends its arms out with its hands open revealing speakers. Sound waves emit from these speakers hitting Mikomi. (1400 LP)

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 2 Mikomi 2**

The decrease causes Mikomi to fall behind Taiwa once again.

"Grrr you little shit, take this! Samurai attack Treble." She yells, frustrated.

The samurai leaps and slashes down on the mechanical lion destroying it. The backlash hits Taiwa causing his D-Wheel to swerve a little. (1300 LP)

"Monster effect activate." Taiwa yells as he regains balance, "Once Treble is destroyed as a result of battle, the monster that destroyed it is changed to defense position."

The blue samurai kneels down into defense position before disintegrating. The dust from the disintegration gathers onto Mikomi's deck. The top card glows as she draws it.

"Once my Samurai is switched to defense mode it is destroyed, but I get to draw one card." Mikomi explains looking at the new card. "So you knew my monster's weakness, that doesn't mean this duel is over just yet!"

'If only she knew, I had no idea that would happen.' Taiwa thinks before looking at the duel screen, 'But she's uneasy now, her anger is getting the best of her.'

Both D-Wheel's jump a gap in the road and drive into a dried up waterway.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn."

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 3 Mikomi 3**

"Ok it's my turn." Taiwa says drawing his card, "I activate the speed spell Angel Baton, with this I can draw two cards as long as I discard one from my hand."

Taiwa draws his new cards and sends one to the graveyard.

"Next I summon Echo-Lancer Resonance in defense mode."

A portal opens when a male android appears and kneels defending itself. (800 Def)

"Then I'll use Resonance's special ability, once per turn I can special summon an Echo-Lancer monster from my graveyard whose level is equal to the number of monsters on my side of the field." Taiwa states as Resonance slams the floor with its palm causing a ray of light to shine.

"That means!"

"Yup, since I have one monster I'm going to special summon the level one tuner monster Echo-Lancer Whisper that I just discarded to the field in attack mode."

A mechanical mouse jumps out of the light. (300 Atk)

"Huh? What do you expect to do with that?" Mikomi laughs mocking the monster's strength.

The security's tiger roars frightening the timid mouse into hiding.

"You shouldn't insult those you don't understand." Taiwa says seriously as he throws his arm back with his open palm facing Mikomi. "Now Whisper attack her directly!"

"A direct attack?"

The mechanical mouse hears the order and scurries passed the tiger attacking Mikomi. She brushes it off as she has become increasingly annoyed. (1100 LP)

"Then I'll play the speed spell Stealth Impact."

"What does that do?" Mikomi asks clenching her fists.

"After one of my monsters successfully attacks directly this card inflicts 500 points of damage."

A green aura surrounds the security officer as she takes the damage. (600 LP)

"Once Whisper deals damage it switches to defense mode." Taiwa informs as Whisper hides itself behind Resonance. (100 Def) "I place two cards face down and end my turn."

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 4 Mikomi 4**

"You'll pay for that; draw!" Mikomi draws her card and places it in her hand, "I reveal my trap Ice Spike, as long as this card is face up on the field when my monster attacks yours and has an attack higher than its defense I can deal the difference as damage."

Taiwa's eyes open at what he just heard. Mikomi grins as she points to Whisper.

"Now my prince, attack and destroy that little rodent and end this duel!"

The tiger charges at Taiwa's monster as he thinks about what to do.

'If I take the hit I'll lose the rest of my life points.' Taiwa thinks to himself before noticing what he has on the field, 'Unless…'

The tiger leaps over Resonance and gets ready to destroy the monster.

"It's over!"

Just as the beast's claws were going to connect, Resonance intercepts it and takes the attack. The claws rip through the chest of the monster destroying it. The backlash from the attack strikes Taiwa causing his life points to drop almost to nothing. (100 LP)

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 3 Mikomi 4**

"Wait, how did you-?" Mikomi begins to say before she realizes the trap card that was activated.

"Heh, by my In Tune trap card." Taiwa explains "When a tuner monster is the target of an attack, I can have another monster take the hit instead."

The dust from the last attack settles revealing Whisper unharmed.

"No, I will not have you take control of this duel; I place one card face down and activate my Cave In trap card." Mikomi yells angrily, "With this card out on the field I can send it to my graveyard on my next stand by phase and when I do it will inflict 300 points of damage for every card on my field."

"Shit, that will take me down to zero."

"Exactly, and with that I'll end my turn."

"I activate Resonance's special ability, at the end of the turn when it's destroyed by battle I can special summon an Echo-Lancer monster with 1500 attack points or less from my deck, and I choose Soprano."

A light shines from Taiwa's deck as another machine monster appears on the field. (1300 Atk)

"It makes no difference so go ahead criminal, make your last pathetic move."

The D-Wheels race down the water way as dark clouds begin to roll in.

**Speed Counter: Taiwa 4 Mikomi 5**

'Come on deck speak to me, I trust you will give me what I need.' Taiwa thinks to himself as he draws his card.

He flips it over to see what it is and smiles at the pull.

"I summon Echo-Lancer Ampli-Flyer in attack mode."

A mechanical eagle flies onto the field and lets out a scream. (1100 Atk)

"Now I tune my level one Whisper to my level two Ampli-Flyer and my level three Soprano."

Whisper turns into one large green ring and encompasses the other two monsters until they dissolve into five stars.

"The hush of the enemy lurks in the shadows. Drown them out with your overpowering will."

"A Synchro summoning?" Mikomi yells out loud, 'Dammit I was too careless.'

"Synchro summon! Reveal yourself Deafening Droid!"

From the beam of light radiating from the monsters emerges a giant machine with speakers mounted on its shoulders. (2600 Atk)

"This monster is huge…" Mikomi says astounded.

"Go Deafening Droid destroy her tiger with deaf wave!" Taiwa orders.

The volume meters on the machine's chest begin to glow and increase until the speakers blast an enormous sound wave that barrels towards Mikomi.

"Not so fast, I activate Dewloren's special ability; I can return all face up cards on my side of the field to increase its attack by 500 points for each card"

The two face up trap cards are sent back to Mikomi's hand while Dewloren roars with power. (3000 Atk)

"Now counter attack my prince, destroy this criminal's monster and bring him to justice!"

The tiger runs through the wave and gets ready to slash the machine.

"I will not allow you to carry out your twisted justice. I reveal my face down, Synchro Strike." Taiwa yells as the trap card flips open, "For every synchro material monster used in the synchro summon my droid gains 500 attack points."

The spirits of Ampli-Flyer, Whisper and Soprano appear and fuse with Deafening Droid increasing its power. (4100 Atk)

"You may have seen the darker side of friendships, but I'm telling you I would never hurt my friends." Taiwa exclaims to Mikomi as she takes what he says in. "I will go above and beyond for my friends just like my monsters are doing for me."

Dewloren comes closer just as Taiwa's monster launches a punch.

"You…you know nothing about me or this world!" Mikomi yells catching Taiwa off guard, "I won't let some ignorant fugitive scum defeat me, I activate the trap card Frost Bite!"

"Another trap?"

The two monsters collide as they destroy each other. The light and feed back cause both D-Wheels to swerve until the computers fizzle out and smoke. The duelists are thrown from their rides and hit the floor rolling.

**Taiwa 0 LP Mikomi 0 LP**

The duelists come to a halt as thunder is heard. It begins to rain with the cold water rinsing the blood from Taiwa's forehead as he opens his eyes slightly. The youth struggles to move and cringes when he feels a sharp pain in his arm. He realizes it is broken and cradles it against his chest. He breathes heavily as he peeks at Mikomi who is lying on the ground motionless. Taiwa closes his eyes and focuses to see if he can hear the officer's thoughts.

'Dammit, there's nothing.'

Taiwa falls back as fatigue hits him. The sound of a helicopter in the distance is the last sound he hears before passing out.


	3. Hideout

**Chapter 3: Hideout**

Taiwa's eyes open and close before opening up all the way. The young man sees a small light bulb through the darkness of the room hovering right above him causing him to sit up in a fright. He looks around the room as sweat forms on his brow. It's a medium sized room, with only one window, a small desk by his bedside where there is a bowl filled with water.

'Where am I?' Taiwa asks himself as he breathes heavily becoming nervous.

A sudden sharp pain causes him to hold onto his arm. It's then he realizes that his arm is wrapped up and in a sling.

'My arm….that's right.' Taiwa thinks as he remembers the duel he had with Mikomi, the crash and him falling unconscious. 'So where am I?'

Just as he asks himself that question the door to the room opens. The sunlight shines in as the figure stands in the doorway. Not seeing sunlight in some time, Taiwa covers his eyes with his uninjured arm as he tries to adjust to the sudden change in light.

"Grandma grandma, he's awake, he's awake!" the figure screams.

Taiwa lowers his arm to realize the figure is a small girl, no more than 7 years old. All of a sudden another figure steps in, presumably the girl's grandmother. Taiwa moves his body against the head rest of the bed as he sits straight up preparing for this new person. The two people step into the room as they close the door behind them flipping the light switch on. Taiwa's eyes widen as he is shocked to see who the second figure is.

"Yuuyou?" Taiwa yells amazed to see the old woman who guided him to the customs' office when he first arrived in Neo Domino City.

"Hello, sonny boy how are you feeling today?" Yuuyou asks as the little girl runs over to the desk next to Taiwa's bed.

"I'm….ok…I guess." Taiwa responds as he holds his head with his free arm becoming dizzy from the confusion of the situation.

"Whoa sonny, just lie back and take it easy." Yuuyou says as she helps Taiwa lay down. "Taiyou honey, wet the towel for our guest."

"Yes grandma." Taiyou says as she takes a dry rag and places it in the bowl.

Taiyou takes the now wet rag out and folds it before placing it on Taiwa's forehead.

"Wha-…what happened?" Taiwa tries to say, "How did I get here?"

"Well my grandsons, Ibutsu Seishou, and I were looking for spare parts for our mechanic business in the waterway where you crashed." Yuuyou explains. "We saw you and a security officer lying there pretty banged up and I recognized you, so I told them to take you and your D-Wheel with us back to our shop."

"The security officer….she's still there?" Taiwa asks concerned.

"The security helicopters were on their way so I'm sure they picked her up and took her to the hospital. I figured you were being chased, but I didn't know why. You seemed like such a nice boy so I decided to take you in before security could."

Taiwa breathes a sigh of relief when he hears the explanation.

"Now sonny, just relax." Yuuyou says as she grabs a couple of cloths from the closet in the room and heads to the exit with Taiyou but stops before she leaves to look back at Taiwa. "We'll talk more when you're better and another thing; Didn't I tell you we'd see each other again?"

Yuuyou smiles as the two close the door leaving Taiwa in his bed to sleep some more. Taiwa closes his eyes and falls asleep.

Neo Domino City Hospital…

Mikomi's eyes slowly open as the sunlight rains through the giant hospital window and shines in on her. She lifts her hand in front of her eyes as she slowly sits herself up. She looks down to see she's hooked up to the medical machines as they monitor her vitals.

'Man, how did I get here?' Mikomi asks herself as she looks around her hospital room.

She notices five bouquets of flowers next to her bedside on a desk, but in front of them is her deck. She quickly holds her head and closes her eyes in pain when she sees her cards because the sight of them is bringing back the memories of her duel with Taiwa.

'I remember now, I was dueling that fugitive punk….Taiwa.' Mikomi thinks as she takes her hand away from her head and opens her eyes.

All of a sudden there's a knock at the door. Mikomi turns to the door when the Security chief pokes his head inside.

"Hello Officer Youmei." The Security Chief says as he walks in and closes the door. "I heard a noise coming from inside so I thought I'd check in on you."

"Dad, I'm not on duty. You don't have to call me officer." Mikomi says as she takes a deep breathe.

"Sorry Mikomi, I'm always on duty and you're such a good officer that I sometimes forget that you are my daughter." The chief replies as he pulls up a seat next to the desk with all the flowers on it. "How are you feeling?"

"Could be better." Mikomi replies as she tries to stretch. "That duel took a toll on me, but at least we got our guy."

The chief remains silent and stands up and walks over to the window and stares outside.

"Uhhh, we did get him right?"

"When we got to where you crashed, he and his D-Wheel were gone."

"What?" Mikomi yells not truly believing it. "How is that possible?"

"We don't know yet, but we have Security all over the city looking for him so don't you worry."

"Humph fine." Mikomi replies annoyed that she didn't catch him before she turns to the flowers. "Oh, and thanks for all the flowers."

This catches the chief by surprise as he glances at the bouquets before snickering.

"Actually they're not from me." The chief says, "They're from Sergeant Naito Souretsu."

"Oh…." Mikomi says not very thrilled.

"You should really consider going out with him Mikomi." The chief encourages. "He's brave, dedicated to his craft and very reliable."

"Then why don't _you_ go out with him." Mikomi snaps as she crosses her arms.

"What did you say?" the chief yells insulted. "I don't let you talk to me like that as your superior, what makes you think I'll let you talk to me like that as your father?"

"Father? That iiiisss rich."

"Why you-."

Before the chief can finish his phone goes off. He takes a breath to calm himself down before answering it.

"Yea?...I'll be right there." The chief says before hanging up. "We'll talk about this later Mikomi. I have to-."

"Yea yea I know the deal already." Mikomi says as she turns on her side, turning her back to her father.

The chief shakes his head before leaving the room.

Fikusu Family Repair Shop….

There's a sudden explosion that wakes Taiwa up from his sleep.

'What the hell was that?' Taiwa asks himself as he looks at the door.

"Seishou! What did I tell you about adding that much power?" a man's voice yells.

"I'm sorry bro; I thought it might need some more juice." Seishou responds.

The voices are a little muffled as Taiwa is hearing this through the walls of his room. He lifts the covers off his body and swings his legs over the side till his feet are touching the floor.

'Well I'm up.' Taiwa thinks to himself sarcastically as he slowly puts his sneakers on.

He searches the desk's drawers for anything that belongs to him. He opens the middle drawer and sees his deck in its case there. He grabs it and clips it on his pants before standing up.

"If it needs more juice I'd tell you!" Ibutsu yells again as Yuuyou walks into the garage.

The garage is filled with smoke as the D-Wheel's engine they were working on bursts.

"Guys, guys stop arguing, you're going to wake up our guest." Yuuyou pleads as she swipes at the smoke trying to fan it out of the garage.

"Then tell your grandson, that if he wants to become a great mechanic he needs to follow protocol and fix only what needs to be fixed." Ibutsu explains as Seishou scowls "Instead of trying to 'make everything better' with his confounded tactics."

Ibutsu wipes the oil off his hands with a rag and throws it on the floor before leaving the garage, walking pass Yuuyou. The grandmother looks at Seishou who stares back a little disappointed with himself.

"Grandma, I…I just wanted to give it an upgrade." Seishou says in a low tone.

"I know sweetie I know." Yuuyou reassures as she walks up to her grandson and hugs him. "And don't worry about Ibutsu, he's…..just a little…"

"Tight assed."

"Seishou! What did I tell you about that kind of language?"

A creaking sound comes from behind Yuuyou as she hears it and turns around to see Taiwa standing in the doorway.

"Taiwa? You're awake."

"Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting." Taiwa says graciously "I'll leave you two."

"Nonsense, you're my guest." Yuuyou says smiling easing Taiwa's discomfort. "But while you're here, let me introduce you to my youngest grandson, Seishou."

"Nice to meet you."

Taiwa stares at the youth with a smile when Seishou steps in front of Taiwa and examines him.

"So you're the guy that was running from the pig right?" Seishou says non-saliently.

The remark takes Taiwa back as Yuuyou pulls Seishou's ear. Seishou squints and clenches his jaw tight as he tries to overcome the pain.

"Once again what did I say about that kind of language?"

"Ok ok I'll stop I'll stop!" Seishou pleads as he tries to release himself from his grandmother's grasp to the amusement of Taiwa.

A few minutes pass when we rejoin Taiwa and the Fikusu family at the dining room table, about ready to have lunch. Taiwa as the guest sits at the head of the table across from Ibutsu while Seishou and Taiyou are on either side of him. Ibutsu just stares at Taiwa like he was examining every move he made. Taiwa sits there a little nervous as he tries to come up with something to say.

"Here you go, it's lunch time." Yuuyou says as she enters from the kitchen holding a tray of sandwiches.

She walks in and places the tray down in the middle of the dining table. "Dig in."

The two young ones grab sandwiches as Ibutsu and Taiwa continue a stare down. Flashes of a memory play in Taiwa's mind. He sees a burglary taking place in a house as a crying young boy hugs his dead father. The intensity of what Taiwa sees finally causes him to look down.

"I know what you're thinking." Taiwa says calmly. "You want to know who I am and why security was after me right."

"You're damn right I want to know." Ibutsu says very calmly as he takes a sandwich for himself.

"Brother why-." Seishou says before his Ibutsu raises his hand, interrupting him.

"If he's innocent like he says he is." Ibutsu begins as Taiwa looks on. "Then he should be able to answer my question."

The three siblings turn to their guest as they wait for a response.

"Ok, I have nothing to hide." Taiwa says as he takes a drink of water from his glass. "This is what happened."

Neo Domino City Hospital…

'How can that punk get away?' Mikomi asks herself as she lies in bed staring out her window.

Suddenly, the door opens as an officer walks in holding a transparent bag. Mikomi sits up slowly as she stares at the bag.

"Officer Youmei, I have your personal assets." The officer says as he hands the bag over to Mikomi. "Is that all you need?"

"Yes, this was all thank you." Mikomi replies with a smile as the officer nods his head and exits the room to return back to his post.

The young woman sits there as she opens up the bag and removes the contents inside. She pulls out her identification, a tracker and finally her phone.

'I'm going to get to the bottom of this.' Mikomi thinks as she turns on her phone and begins to dial a number.

After a few rings a voice on the other end answers. "Hello?"

"Eisei, it's me."

Mikomi lays the phone on her lap as a blue light glows from the screen, emitting a holo-projection of Eisei wearing a headset.

"…..I'm going to hang up now." Eisei says realizing who it is.

"Wait Eisei this is really important." Mikomi pleads trying to keep her voice down so the officer outside the room won't hear her.

Eisei sighs over the phone as he waits to hear the request.

"I need information on Taiwa Wakari, the guy I was pursuing yesterday."

"But…didn't you catch him?" Eisei asks. "Cause couldn't you just interrogate him for any answers you need?"

"…The scum got away." Mikomi answers under her breathe shamefully. "I don't know how but he did, and now he's a fugitive in my city. I need any information as to where I can find him."

"Wow….good job." Eisei replies sarcastically which upsets the officer.

"I didn't ask for your smart ass remarks. And if you don't cooperate, I'll just tell the chief where you are and-."

"Uhhhh no that's ok, let's not do that." Eisei says nervously as he feverishly types away at his computer. "Wakari….from Onkyou right?"

"Yea…How'd you know?" Mikomi asks surprised.

"You underestimate my abilities officer." Eisei says proudly. "All you have to do is hack into the global database. And here you….go."

Eisei presses down on one last key on his computer causing Taiwa's entire file to show up on Mikomi's phone. The file is projected as it scrolls down for Mikomi to read. The officer scans it with her eyes when she becomes a little disappointed.

"Ok, there's nothing here that seems suspicious. Taiwa comes from an adopted family in a small town on Onkyou where he spent most of his life….And he has no family or connects in Neo Domino City."

"Yea…so there is nowhere he can go." Eisei says as he looks at the file.

Mikomi sits up on her bed contemplating this information before she leans over the phone.

'Except for one.' Mikomi thinks "Look up another name Eisei. Yusha Tatsujin and search for their connection."

Eisei types away as Taiwa's file disappears and a file on Yusha is pulled up. It scrolls down while Mikomi's eyes follow the projector, reading the information.

"Who is this guy?" Eisei asks.

"Supposedly he and Taiwa are friends, and it's his apartment where we found the punk." Mikomi informs him as she tries to put the pieces together.

"Well it looks like another dead en-. Wait a sec…"

"What did you find?" Mikomi asks as her attention is caught.

"It's a heavily encrypted file from the time Yusha was 13 years old."

"What does it say?"

Eisei types keys in at an accelerated rate as he tries to peer into the files.

"Got…IT!" Eisei yells as he cracks the code to view the confidential file.

Mikomi's screen lights up with the new information. The officer's eyes widen as she reads the file in awe.

"Are you reading this Eisei?"

"I sure am, but the last part is….unclear." Eisei replies confused with what he's reading when his computer screen suddenly becomes distorted and shuts down. "What the?"

Eisei presses the keys on his keyboard to try and recover his computer but to no avail. "Shit."

"What happened?"

"I must have set off a trap or virus when I accessed that file." Eisei explains as he sighs "But that's…impossible I made sure there was nothing there. Someone definitely didn't want anyone to see that information."

Fikusu Family Repair Shop…

"And that's when I ran from security and got into a turbo duel with this female security officer." Taiwa says as the rest of the family hang on every word "The result was a draw but our D-Wheels crashed causing both of us to fall unconscious. And…I guess that's when you three found me."

Taiwa looks to Yuuyou, Ibutsu and Seishou. Yuuyou smirks as she goes back into the kitchen while Seishou and Taiyou look at the guest struck with intrigue.

"I'm sorry to hear about your friend." Taiyou says sadly.

"Yea, those damn pigs." Seishou adds uproariously as he pushes his seat back and stands up catching the others' attention. "I wouldn't be surprised if Security has something to do with your friend's disappearance."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if our guest here wasn't lying about the whole thing." Ibutsu claims as he excuses himself from the table.

"Bro, what the fuck are you talking about?" Seishou yells becoming annoyed.

"Seishou! What did I say about that language?" Yuuyou yells from the kitchen before she returns, anger clear on her face.

"But grandma, Ibutsu called Taiwa a liar."

As Yuuyou and her grandson argued, Taiwa just sat there and continued to stare at Ibutsu as he left the dining room. When he disappeared from sight Taiwa looked down with a sad expression when a banging is heard at the front door. The noise immediately halts the ruckus and arguing going on in the house. The four remaining in the dining room look at each other before they hear a voice coming from outside.

"HELLO?...THIS IS SECURITY." The security officer yells "IS ANYONE HOME?"

The officer stands outside the door for a few seconds before he travels around the house. Seeing this, Yuuyou grabs Taiwa by his shirt and pushes him back into his room while he signals Seishou to go to the garage. Taiyou follows her grandmother while Seishou nods his head and obeys the order. The officer finally reaches the side of the house where the garage is located. He strolls in front of the open workshop to see Ibutsu working on a D-Wheel while Seishou is seen grabbing some nuts and bolts to give to his brother.

"Hey!" the officer yells as he knocks on the side of the garage.

The noise grabs the attention of the brothers. They stop what they are doing and look at the officer.

"Did you not hear me knocking on the front door?" The officer asks obnoxiously.

"Sorry officer." Ibutsu replies as he wipes the sweat from his brow "With the work going on in here we couldn't hear you knocking."

The officer doesn't say anything but instead walks in to the garage and helps himself to looking around. Seishou stands in the back nervously as he tries to hold his composure.

"Is there anyone else here?" The officer asks.

"Yes, my grandmother and little sister." Ibutsu answers.

"Bring them here I need to ask you all some questions."

Ibutsu turns to his younger brother and nods telling him to get the rest of the family. Seishou turns away from his brother and quickly looks at the officer before racing inside. A few seconds later he returns with Yuuyou and Taiyou.

"Good afternoon officer." Yuuyou greets kindly.

"Good afternoon maim. I just need to ask some questions, answer them and I'll be on my way." The officer informs the family as he digs into his pocket when he pulls out a rolled up paper.

He unravels the paper and holds it up in front of the family. They look at it and see Taiwa's face printed on a wanted poster.

"This is the picture of a fugitive that we believe is being harbored by someone in our city. Have you seen this guy or know any information about him?"

After the question was asked the officer lowers the paper and observes the family. After a couple of seconds each member of the family shakes their head. The officer remains motionless as they give their answers.

In a different room, Taiwa is standing around as he looks into the monitors put up by the family. He looks into one particular monitor that records what goes on in the garage. He can now see and hear everything going on.

"None of you know anything?" The officer asks as he walks over to the D-Wheel Ibutsu was working on. "This guy has a D-Wheel…so maybe he came in here to repair it. It's black with yellow trims."

"Well, officer that D-Wheel is green." Seishou says pointing out the different colors.

The officer snaps his head in the boy's direction before smiling in a sinister way.

"I see that…but maybe he came earlier or….." The officer begins when he sees a tarp covering some kind of machinery in the corner of the garage.

The family realizes the officer has noticed the tarp that is concealing Taiwa's D-Wheel. They all become a little nervous as the officer takes a step.

"Officer…do you have a search warrant to be going through our home?" Ibutsu asks as he walks up to the officer, trying to stop the search.

"Search warrant?...I got your warrant right here!"

The officer quickly turns and punches Ibutsu in the gut causing him to keel over in pain.

"Ibutsu!" Yuuyou yells out scared.

In the other room Taiwa clenches his fist and grabs his deck from his pants pocket and gets ready to leave and help them out.

"Hey pig!" Seishou yells as he slides between the officer and the concealed D-Wheel. "Why don't you leave us alone?"

"Pig huh? I see we have a little tough guy." The officer says as he gets ready to forcefully move him out the way.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Seishou quickly says pointing up to a single camera which stops the officer's movement. "This whole place is being videotaped, and this kind of action wouldn't look right for the department, now would it?"

The officer tightens his jaw as the young teen has made a point.

"Now if I were you I'd turn around and walk out."

"Ha! I know you guys are hiding him and that over there must be his D-Wheel." The officer says "So why should I go anywhere?"

"Fine then I'll force you to leave….duel me."

These words catch the family by surprise and stops Taiwa from intervening.

"Duel you?"

"Yea, and if you win, you can go ahead with your search." Seishou explains "But if I win…then you have to leave us alone and go on your merry way."

The officer doesn't respond at first as he mulls it over while the family remains silent.

"Come on pig, you can't lose to a kid like me can ya?" Seishou taunts smiling.

"Fine…let's take this outside punk." The officer says becoming annoyed "I'll teach you some manners, and when I'm through you and your entire family will go to prison."

Taiwa remains standing in the other room seeing the events unfold as he looks down at his deck before putting it away. He then walks over to the door and quietly opens it. He sneaks around the place trying to avoid anything that would give away his position. Taiwa comes to where the dining room is. He stares out the window and sees Seishou standing outside a few yards across from the officer. Both have their duel discs attached to their arms while the family stands on the sidelines.

'That should be me dueling him….' Taiwa thinks but notices the boy's face. 'But he seems determined and confident.'

"Let's get started." Seishou says as he places his deck in his duel disc, activating it.

"You're going to regret challenging me kid." The officer says as he places his deck into his duel disc "I'm going to have to call for backup to take you all in…cause I don't think I have room in my car for all of you."

Seishou's eyes become intense as he takes offense to the statement.

"Let's Duel!" Both say in unison.

"I'll start things off piggy." Seishou says annoying the officer "I'll set one monster face down and end my turn."

"Defending huh?" The officer says mockingly before drawing a card "I'll show you what happens if you just use defense tactics, I summon Pursuit Chaser in attack mode."

The officer lays the card on the duel disc which causes the hologram generators to activate. A robot-like jet with two mechanical arms appears on the field. (1400 Atk)

Seishou looks on a little worried when the officer points a finger at the face down. "Attack!"

The machine monster flies in the air before punching the face down card, splitting it in two. Out of the card appears a small circular monster that disappears as soon as it's hit.

"You just activated my monster's special ability." Seishou says as a card sticks out from the middle of his deck "When my Batteryman Micro-Cell is destroyed as a result of battle, I get to special summon another batteryman to my side of the field."

Seishou takes the card from his deck and places it on his duel disc in defense position.

"So I summon Batteryman AA!"

A small humanoid battery appears on the field in defense position. (1000 Def)

"Oh, and I'm not done, when you attacked my Micro-Cell, you flipped it face up which allows me to draw a card." Seishou adds as he draws a card from the top of his deck.

"Well, I guess you're not as hopeless as you look." The officer insults with a smile. "But I have a special effect of my own. When Pursuit Chaser destroys a defense position monster in battle it inflicts 500 points of damage."

The machine appears in front of Seishou catching the youth off guard. The monster cocks its mechanical arm back before punching the young duelist in the gut. Seishou's eyes open wide as he is hit. (Seishou: 4000 - 3500 LP)

"Humph, I place one card face down and end my turn." The officer says calmly as he stares at his opponent who is composing himself. "You should quit now boy, there is no shame in stopping-."

A loud laugh coming from Seishou interrupts the officer's sentence. Becoming annoyed the officer begins to yell.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, this whole time I thought pigs didn't know how to duel." Seishou says in between laughs. "But you're not half bad."

'Damn this kid.' The officer thinks as he clenches his fists in anger.

"It's my turn now. Draw!" Seishou says as he draws his card and looks at it. "I summon a second Batteryman AA in attack position."

Another humanoid battery appears standing up on the field (1000 Atk.)

"And then I switch my defense AA to attack mode."

The other batteryman stands up causing the two thunder monsters to spark. (2000 Atk) (2000 Atk)

"What the?" the officer says shocked as he sees the increase in power.

"I forgot to mention my AA's power depends on how many AA's are on my field in the same position." Seishou explains as he holds up two fingers. "I have two AA's in attack position so they have 2000 attack each."

"Wow, Seishou is good." Taiyou says from the sidelines as Yuuyou nods her head in agreement with a proud smile on her face.

"Now attack AA number one, destroy that chaser."

The first AA runs up to the machine monster and attacks with an electrical punch that destroys the monster in an explosion that causes the officer to shield his eyes. (Officer: 4000 - 3400 LP)

"Now AA number two attack him directly!" Seishou orders as he points at the officer.

The second AA runs behind the first AA and jumps over it as it charges up an electric punch of its own and strikes the officer. An electric charge runs over the officer who grimaces. (Officer: 3400 - 1400 LP)

"You'll pay for that." The officer grunts as he becomes angry.

"I end my turn by placing a face down."

"Draw!" The officer draws his card looks at it and smiles "First I activate my trap card Call for Backup. Whenever I draw a monster this card activates, I can grab up to two monsters from my deck with the same name as the card drawn."

The officer reveals the Guard Dog that he just drew which causes a worried look to come over Seishou's face. Two cards stick out from his deck as the officer takes them.

"Now I send my three Guard Dog's to the graveyard to special summon my Montage Dragon!"

The officer sends the three cards to the graveyard as he slams the card on his duel disc. The hologram generators reveal a giant three-headed dragon who roars. (2700 Atk)

'2700 attack?' Seishou thinks as he tries to stay confident.

"Haha I'm not done yet boy, that was a special summon so I can still normal summon another monster. And I choose to summon Search Striker in attack position." The officer says laughing as he places another card on his duel disc.

An armored man holding two long guns appears on the field alongside the dragon. (1600 Atk)

"Now Montage Dragon attack his AA."

The dragon's three heads curl back before forcing them forward unleashing a massive beam of energy to bombard the first batteryman. The aftershock hits Seishou who digs his feet in the dirt to stand firm. (Seishou: 3500 - 2800 LP)

"And with one of your AA's gone, the other gets weaker." The officer says confidently.

The sparks surrounding the batteryman become smaller as the batteryman's eyes droop. (1000 Atk)

"Search Striker destroy the second batteryman!"

The second monster jumps in the air and takes aim. It shoots two shots at the monster as both hit destroying it. (Seishou: 2800 - 2200 LP)

"I'll give you one last chance boy, you can't defeat my dragon; not with weak monsters like the ones you have." The officer says trying to weaken Seishou's confidence. "Give up and maybe I'll put it a good word for your family with the chief."

"If I were you I'd shut up right now." Seishou says under his breathe which catches the officer's ear. "You don't want to miss the winning move do ya?"

"Ha, you are a confident one I'll give you that. But there is such thing as being overconfident." The officer says shrugging what the youth said earlier. "I play my quick play spell card Regroup. This card replenishes my life points by the same amount as the amount of damage I dealt to you this turn. And I count 900."

The officer smiles as green sparkles rain down on him, replenishing his life points. (Officer: 1400 - 2300 LP)

"Now make your last move."

"This is the only move I need." Seishou says as he draws his card.

'There's a fire inside this boy…something I've never seen before.' Taiwa thinks to himself from inside the house.

"I summon Batteryman C in attack mode." Seishou says as a small blue battery appears. (0 Atk)

"What the?" The officer says confused before laughing hysterically "I guess this is your winning move boy haha."

"No…this is. I activate the spell card Battery Change." Seishou says as he plays his card. "With this card I can tribute a batteryman on my field to switch it out with another batteryman in my deck for one turn only. And all I have to do is pay 1000 life points." (Seishou: 2200 - 1200 LP)

The blue batteryman fazes out before a light appears in the ground where it once stood. Out of the light a third Batteryman AA jumps out. (1000 Atk)

"And what do you expect to do with that thing?" The officer asks not impressed.

"This…reveal trap card Portable Battery Pack!" Seishou says as the face down card flips open "With this card, I can bring back two batterymen from my graveyard to my side of the field."

"NO! That means—." The officer yells as realization comes over his face.

"Yup, it's over." Seishou says as he raises his arm in the air "Be revived my Batterymen."

Two beams of light appear in the ground on each side of the already existing AA. The two batterymen jump out of the light and stand each covered in electrical charges. (3000 Atk x 3)

"Impossible…3000 attack."

"Go Batterymen destroy his monsters!" Seishou orders as one monster destroys the dragon and the other destroys the Search Striker. (Officer: 2300 - 600 LP)

The officer falls to his knees as his life points are almost depleted.

"Now Batteryman finish him off with a direct attack."

The third monster runs over to the officer and kicks him onto his back. (Officer: 600 - 0 LP)

"He did it!" Taiyou cheers as she hugs her grandmother and older brother.

The officer slowly sits up to see the family run up to the young duelist with the exception of Ibutsu who stands there with his arms crossed. Seishou peers through his sister and grandmother's hugs to look at his older brother, waiting for any kind of gesture. Ibutsu closes his eyes and smirks, nodding as a sign of his approval.

"Well officer, as part of the deal." Yuuyou says as she and the rest of the family stare at the officer get back on his feet. "You can be on your way now."

The officer glares at the family with stern eyes before walking over to his car in shame. He gets in, closes the door and speeds off. Taiwa looks on from inside with a concerned look on his face before he heads back into his room. The Fikusu family all walk indoors when they hear the revving of an engine. They run into the garage where they see Taiwa testing his D-Wheel. Noticing the family's entrance, Taiwa stops what he is doing and turns to them.

"I'm sorry but….I need to leave." Taiwa says all of a sudden.

"Leave? Why?" Yuuyou asks confused.

"That officer….he's going to return. And with more security." Taiwa answers as he turns on the duel computer to see if it's running properly "Your family shouldn't be subjected to any of this."

"Wait, we made a deal and I defeated him. How do you know he's coming back?" Seishou asks enthusiastically.

Taiwa turns his head to the young man before turning away. "I just do."

Seishou gets ready to reply when Ibutsu puts a hand on his shoulder stopping the tirade before it begins. The older brother walks up to Taiwa.

"Everything's working fine. We fixed everything like new." Ibutsu says.

Taiwa stops his testing and faces Ibutsu. Taiwa smirks and nods his head as the two men drag the D-Wheel to the front of the garage.

"Don't forget your helmet." Taiyou says as she runs up to Taiwa and hands him his protective head gear.

"Thank you, I can't begin to know how to pay you all back."

"Just take care of yourself." Yuuyou says, "But before you go, there is something you should look into."

A few minutes pass when the garage door opens revealing Taiwa riding his D-Wheel. When the door fully opens, Taiwa revs the engine and speeds off.

'I have to go through the back roads to avoid security.' Taiwa thinks as he goes in and out of different roads as he heads for a deserted part of town.

As he's riding, Taiwa thinks back to what Yuuyou told him before he left.

"_Neo Domino City has a facility where they imprison criminals called 'The Detention Center'" Yuuyou informs as Seishou presses a button on Taiwa's duel monitor. "If your friend is missing, there is a good chance security placed him there."_

"_Yea and while me and bro were tuning up your ride, I equipped it with the latest electronic gear as well as a GPS mapping of Neo Domino City." Seishou adds proudly as he presses two more buttons causing a map of the city to appear on the monitor. _

_A red dot begins to blink on the map as the view zooms in on it. _

"_That's where it is."_

A beeping noise takes Taiwa's focus away from his flashback and onto his monitor. The same red dot continues to blink as the GPS guides him closer and closer to his destination.

'I'm coming Yusha.'

Neo Domino City Hospital…

KNOCK KNOCK

"Officer Youmei?" A woman's voice calls out from behind a door.

The door slowly opens as a nurse walks in with a tray of food.

"Officer Youmei, I've brought you your lu…" The nurse begins to say before she notices something unexpected.

The nurse drops the tray of food and races out of the room to inform the other officers. The curtains in the room dance in the breeze as the window is opened and the bed is empty.

Outside of the Detention Center…

Taiwa rides on his D-Wheel in a barren compost yard when he puts on the brakes a few hundred yards away from the center. He stares at the building surrounded by a look out post. The only way in or out is a gate in the center that can only be opened from the inside.

'I can't just drive up to the center and expect them to open up for me.' Taiwa thinks as he takes his helmet off and parks his ride before climbing off. 'I need to sneak in somehow.'

All of a sudden an engine roars catching the young man's attention. He looks up to see another D-Wheel jump a mound of dirt and land a few feet away from him. The mystery D-Wheel comes to a complete stop as the rider takes their helmet off to the surprise of Taiwa.

"You?"

Mikomi climbs off her D-Wheel and attaches a duel disc on her arm.

"Nice to see you again Taiwa." Mikomi says sarcastically "I have a few questions for you. And you're going to answer them or I'm going to force them out of you."


	4. Search for Answers

**Chapter 4: Search for Answers**

Mikomi slowly walks up to Taiwa until she's a few feet in front of him.

"Now first question…How do you know Yusha Tatsujin?" Mikomi asks as she puts one hand on her hip waiting for the answer.

"I don't have time for this." Taiwa says sternly as he begins to walk past the officer.

"You better make time." Mikomi yells out not turning around or moving from her spot "Or you'll have to answer to the chief."

Mikomi pulls out her phone and turns it on. The sound that it makes stops Taiwa's walk towards the detention center as he clenches his fists.

"That's better…now how do you know Yusha Tatsujin?" Mikomi asks again turning around to see Taiwa who turns around as well.

"I told you before. Yusha's my friend."

"Yea yea that's right. And you wouldn't do anything to hurt your friend." Mikomi states mockingly with a smile.

Taiwa stares at the officer becoming aggravated.

"Do you know something that I don't?" Taiwa asks confused. "Is he in there?"

Taiwa points to the detention center in the distance. Mikomi doesn't answer instead she activates her duel disc and places her deck inside.

"Let's have a rematch, I figure since our last duel ended in a draw we can finally see who is better."

"Why? Why not just arrest me?"

"Cause I have a lot of pride in myself and my abilities. And for a fugitive piece of shit like you to defeat me was a huge blow to my ego." Mikomi says calmly "And along the way we can get to know each other a little better."

Taiwa doesn't respond but instead contemplates his options.

"Come on, what do you have to lose?"

"Fine...I'll duel you but when I win you have to answer all my questions."

"IF, you win." Mikomi corrects as Taiwa gets ready to duel "Now let's do this."

"DUEL!" both yell in unison as their duel discs read "4000 lifepoints"

"I'll start things off...you know ladies first and all." Mikomi says confidently as she draws her first card and places one on her duel disc, "I summon Numbing Grub in the Ice Barrier in defense mode."

A green and blue worm appears on the field huddled in defense mode. (1800 Def)

"Now to activate its special effect, whenever my bug is summoned I can take away one of your monster card zones." Mikomi informs as the worm lifts its head and shoots an ice spear into the ground in front of Taiwa.

Taiwa looks down at the ice before raising his duel disc to take a look. He notices one of the slots for his monster cards has a red x flashing on it.

"I'll end my turn with a face-down. Go ahead."

"Draw!" Taiwa draws his first card and surveys the field. 'I need to get rid of that monster, but its defense is pretty high...no matter, I'll break through it.'

The young man places a card on the duel disc causing a light to appear on the field.

"Appear now! Echo-Lancer Resonance."

An android emerges from the light in attack position. (1400 Atk)

"And what is that supposed to do?" Mikomi asks snobbishly.

"I then use the spell card Double Summon, this gives me a chance to summon one more monster." Taiwa explains as he puts his second card on the duel disc "So I'll summon Echo-Lancer Ampli-Flyer in attack mode."

A mechanical eagle appears on the field next to resonance. (1100 Atk)

"Ampli-Flyer raise Resonance's power by 500." Taiwa commands as a yellow aura surrounds the mechanical bird before it moves over to Resonance.

Resonance flex's its mechanical arms as its power raises. (1900 Atk)

"Go Resonance, destroy her worm!"

Resonance runs toward Mikomi's monster as the female duelist stands there not moving. As Resonance gets closer to the monster it cocks its arm back to attack when the face down card behind the worm flips open revealing a trap.

"I activate my trap, Ice Slip!" Mikomi yells as a trail of ice appears underneath Resonance causing the monster to slip and slide around the worm and towards Mikomi herself.

"What the?"

Resonance regains its balance and attacks Mikomi striking her with a punch across the face. She takes the hit and steps back before grinning as her life points fall. (Mikomi: 4000 - 3050 LP)

"Don't look too confused, my Ice Slip trap card protects my monster by having your monster attack directly." Mikomi explains "In addition, it cuts the attacking monster's attack in half."

Resonance jumps back to Taiwa's side as its attack goes back to normal.

'She took a hit to protect her monster.' Taiwa thinks as he looks at the worm monster in front of him. 'She's planning something...maybe she needs it for a tribute...I'll just have to see what it is.'

Taiwa looks at his hand and does nothing, "I end my turn."

"My draw..." Mikomi places the card she just drew into her hand and takes another one "I activate the continuous spell card Ice Clone. This card allows me to designate a water attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points and take up to two cards with the same name and special summon them."

'Oh boy this might be bad.'

"And I'm sure you can guess who I'm choosing punk, my bug." Mikomi says as two cards come out of her deck and she grabs them "Now come out my bugs, swarm the field."

Two more green and blue worms appear alongside the first one in defense mode (1800 Def x 2)

"Use your special abilities and render his field useless!"

The two newly summoned worms perch up and shoot ice spikes up in the air. They arc their way onto Taiwa's field surrounding Resonance and Ampli-Flyer who look left and right at their ice prisons.

"HAHA your monster field is filled up and you can only have two monsters on the field at a time at this point." Mikomi laughs, "And your monsters look like trapped rats just like how your friend is being kept."

"You bitch...so he is in there!" Taiwa yells become infuriated with the idea of Yusha imprisoned.

"Whoa temper temper scum...you're not going to get answers with that tone of voice." Mikomi states grabbing another card, "Besides you should be worrying about this duel...I summon Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier in attack mode."

A blonde sage appears onto the field in a meditative position. (1500 Atk)

"Pilgrim, attack that pesky bird!"

The sage raises his arms and points at the mechanical eagle with outstretched hands and open palms before it recites a spell. Its eyes glow blue when a strong ice wind picks up behind it before it streams toward the monster. The icy wind freezes Ampli-Flyer before it shatters into pieces. The wind goes on to hit Taiwa who puts his arms up to block the cold. (Taiwa: 4000 - 3600 LP)

"When Ampli-Flyer is destroyed in battle it can equip itself to one of my Echo-Lancers giving it an 800 attack point boost." Taiwa explains as the remnants of the monster gather behind Resonance as the mechanical android sprouts wings raising its attack. (2200 Atk)

"Not bad, but I'll end my turn with two face downs."

'Alright I'm in a bind here, I have one monster zone left and my Resonance. I can destroy her Acolyte and deal damage, or get rid of one of her worms to free up a space.' Taiwa thinks, 'But then there's her face down cards...I'm sure they are traps to protect them.'

Taiwa looks at Resonance who is surrounded by three ice spears.

'But every second I waste here is another second Yusha stays locked up, I have to attack.'

"Draw! Now Resonance attack the worm on the far left!" Taiwa commands as Resonance jumps over the spears and flies towards the monster before shooting missiles from the wings.

"So predictable, I reveal my trap."

'Shit I knew it' Taiwa thinks to himself

"Redirect!"

Suddenly the missiles change course and impact with the Pilgrim. The burst kicks up smoke and hits Mikomi lowering her life points. (Mikomi: 3050 - 2350 LP)

"My Redirect trap card lets me choose the target of your attack so your attack went to my Pilgrim." Mikomi explains.

The smoke from the blast clears up as Mikomi's shaman remains unharmed.

"How did?"

"It's my Pilgrim's special ability, monsters with 1900 attack or more cannot destroy it." Mikomi says with a grin, "But look at it this way, you took a chunk of my life points away...good for you."

Taiwa's fists tighten as he places a card face down and ends his turn.

"It's funny..." Mikomi says catching Taiwa's attention, "If only you could protect your friend as well as I can protect my monsters, then we probably wouldn't be in this position. Some kind of friend you are."

"Shut up!" Taiwa yells cutting her off, "What do you know of friends? I'm guessing you work all day long caring only about your career which has alienated you from everyone you come into contact with. That's the only way to explain your bitter attitude towards anyone with any semblance of friendship. Am I right?"

Taiwa's words cut Mikomi as she draws her card.

"You got some balls talking to me like you know me, you did that in our first duel and you continue to do it." Mikomi says becoming angry, "You have no idea what my life is like and I'll crush you before you make any more assumptions."

Taiwa's eyes become stern as he tries to understand his opponent's feelings.

"I'm going to expose you to who you really are...a criminal. I sacrifice my Pilgrim to bring out Royal Knight of the Ice Barrier."

A Knight donning an all blue ice armor appears in attack position holding a giant lance. (2000 Atk)

"Now for its special ability, whenever my Knight is tribute summoned successfully, I summon one Ice Coffin Token on your side of the field."

Suddenly ice begins to form around Resonance until it completely encases it in ice. (1000 Atk)

"HAHA now you have only 1 zone to fill with monsters."

'Damn, she's been trying to do this from the start...how am I going to win with only one monster on my field?' Taiwa thinks.

"Now for your monster. I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Resonance's equipment, bringing it back to its lowly attack points."

A typhoon emerges from the spell card destroying the mechanical wings on Resonance's back. (1400 Atk)

"Now my Knight attack Resonance!"

The knight charges the encased monster as it thrusts its lance into Resonance's chest destroying it. The shattered ice hits Taiwa lowering his life points. (Taiwa: 3600 - 3000 LP)

"Hope you liked that criminal, I end my turn."

"During the end phase of the turn Resonance is destroyed in battle I can special summon a monster with 1500 attack points or less from my deck." Taiwa says as a card appears from his deck, "And I choose my Echo-Lancer Alto in attack mode."

A light appears in between the ice spears as a small child-like android appears on the field. (1200 Atk)

"A child? That represents friendships in general...childish." Mikomi says with a low voice, "I hope to show you that!"

"It's sad that's what you think." Taiwa says empathetically, "You said protecting your friends is the only thing but it's not. Saving them when they need you is more important, and that is exactly what I plan to do after I defeat you."

Mikomi stays silent as she looks at Taiwa.

'His words...they remind me of...him.' Mikomi thinks as she sees another guy's face where Taiwa stands.

"I draw!" Taiwa says as he looks at the freshly drawn card with a smile. "I play the spell card Level Tuning, this allows me to raise a monster's level on my field by up to two, and I choose the Ice Coffin Token you gave me."

"What?" Mikomi says shocked.

"I can't tribute it, but I can use it for something else." Taiwa says as the ice token's level raises from 1 to 3. "Now I tune my level three Alto to the level three Ice Coffin token."

Alto becomes three giant rings that encompass the ice token, dissolving it into three stars.

"The sound of the wicked threaten the innocent. Silence it with your hand of death."

A bright beam light passes through the center as a new monster appears.

"Synchro Summon! Reveal yourself Master Mute!"

A monster wearing a black hooded cloak descends onto the field as it is surrounded by the ice spears. (2400 Atk)

'Shit, he used the token as material for his synchro summon...who is this guy?'

"I activate Master Mute's special ability, Silent Sphere"

Master Mute lifts its arm as a mechanical skeletal hand appears from the sleeves of the cloak. It points its index finger to its X mouth as the crimson eyes grow brighter. The entire duel field is quickly engulfed in a dark dome.

'What is this?' Mikomi thinks as she looks around but all she sees is what's on the field and her opponent.

'Inside this sphere, no monster effects can be activated as long as this card is face up on the field, every monster effect is negated except for Master Mute.' Taiwa explains through a psychic link to Mikomi.

'Wait, I can hear you in my mind? What are you?' Mikomi asks a little frightened.

'I have no time to explain, I must defeat you and get to the center. So first, your worms effects are negated giving me my monster zones back.'

Master Mute grabs its scythe with both hands and destroys the ice spears surrounding it.

'Now for your Knight, Go Master Mute Silent Slaying!'

The monster flies through the air towards the knight and slices it in two, destroying it. Mikomi looks at the synchro monster as her life points decrease. (Mikomi: 2350 - 1950 LP)

'I end my turn.'

'Without monster effects how am I supposed to defeat that thing?' Mikomi thinks as she begins to breathe heavier. 'This darkness...it's almost suffocating...'

'Give up and I'll let you out.' Taiwa says as Mikomi's eyes open in shock at the proposition. 'There's no need to go further, I can't stay here and deal with you...quit and I'll go ahead to the center.'

'Should I?' Mikomi contemplates as she thinks about the situation, 'No...I can't, I need to find out what's going on and the only way is to defeat him and get some answers...'

Mikomi draws her card.

'I know you're reading my mind scum...so listen up...I'm not quitting so get ready.' Mikomi thinks as she looks at her card before seeming shocked at her draw. 'I can do this...'

Taiwa looks at his opponent intrigued and ready to go.

'Fine, let us continue.'

'Gladly, I tribute two of my bugs to summon Medium of the Ice Barrier!'

A whirlwind surrounds the bugs before they disappear and a woman with long green hair appears. (2200 Atk)

'Then I activate my trap, Ice Balance! This card allows me to designate one Level 7 or higher Ice Barrier monster on my field and destroy all face up monsters on my opponents field with higher attack points than it.'

'What?'

'Go Ice Balance, designate my Medium and destroy Master Mute!'

A blue aura comes over the medium as a beam of blue light shoots from her hands and destroys the synchro monster in a blast that causes the sphere to dissipate. Mikomi puts a hand to her chest as she steadies her breathing.

"Luckily for you criminal, the monster I designate can't attack the turn I activate Ice Balance." Mikomi explains with a grin. "But that doesn't mean my battle phase is done."

Mikomi switches her monster from defense to attack as the bug perches up. (1300 Atk)

"Attack him directly!"

The monster suddenly shoots an ice spear at Taiwa. The young man uses his duel disc to deflect it as his life points decrease. (Taiwa: 3000 - 1700 LP)

Mikomi places a card inside her magic and trap card zones and waits for Taiwa's turn. "I end my turn."

'That was strange...' Taiwa thinks as he remembers the few seconds inside the sphere. 'I was trying to read her memories...but...something was blocking it...all I could get out of it was random bits and pieces.'

"Come on! I don't think you have all day, especially if you wish to save your friend." Mikomi yells impatiently.

'There was one thing that stuck out...but I'll figure it out later.' Taiwa thinks as he draws. "I summon Echo-Lancer Whisper in attack mode."

A small mechanical mouse appears on the field. (300 Atk)

"You remember this little guy, officer?" Taiwa says with a grin. "It can attack you directly. Whisper bring down her life points!"

The mouse scurries across the ground as it breezes past both of Mikomi's monsters and bites her in the leg. (Mikomi: 1950 - 1650 LP)

"And once Whisper's attack is successful, it changes to defense position."

The mouse hunches down as it changes positions. (100 Def)

"I end my turn placing two cards face down."

"I'm a little disappointed that little attack was your answer to me destroying your synchro monster." Mikomi says as she draws her card.

"I activate Jar of Greed, this allows me to draw one card." Taiwa says as he draws his extra card.

"Hmph, you're going to have to do better than that to defeat me, bug destroy his Whisper" Mikomi orders as the insect shoots a ice spear towards the monster.

"Not so fast, I activate Supe-"

All of a sudden the trap card that was about to be revealed stops midway and returns back to its normal position.

"What the...what's going on?" Taiwa asks shocked as the ice spear goes through and destroys Whisper.

"Oh I'm sorry, my Medium has a special ability my opponent can only activate a spell or trap card once per turn." Mikomi explains as Taiwa's eyes widen "And since you already used Jar of Greed your other trap is useless, now go Medium end this duel!"

Mikomi's monster's eyes glow white as a monstrous serpent spirit appears behind it. It roars before it lunges to attack Taiwa. The young man just looks on at the spirit as it approaches closer.

'I...I'm going to lose...sorry Yusha...I fai-' Taiwa thinks to himself before he is cut off by a high pitched sound coming from his duel disc. 'What is that?'

Taiwa looks down and realizes the sound is coming from his graveyard which causes his eyes to widen in surprise.

"Say goodbye to the rest of your life points!" Mikomi yells as the serpent spirit strikes Taiwa in an explosion.

Mikomi takes a step forward as she believes she won when she sees two figures through the smoke left by the impact. She stops suddenly when the dust clears and sees Taiwa still standing with Alto floating in front, guarding him with its arms crossed.

"What is this? You should be done!" Mikomi yells.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I can't lose...not when my friend needs saving." Taiwa says with a grin. (Taiwa: 1700 - 500 LP)

"But...but..." Mikomi stutters as she is confused.

"Let me fill you in, the Alto that was in my graveyard has a special effect, I can remove it from play to lower all my opponent's monsters' attack by 1000." Taiwa explains as the child-like android disappears from the field. "So your Medium's attack was only 1200, not enough to defeat me."

Mikomi's jaw tightens as she looks down at her hand. "I end my turn."

'Yea, think that you have a chance to beat me criminal scum.' Mikomi thinks. 'But you have no monsters on the field and can only use one magic or trap card each turn. So let me see you try and defeat me this turn. Cause when it's my turn again I'll finish you.'

'Ok, this is my last turn. I need to defeat her now or it's over.' Taiwa thinks as he places his fingers underneath the top card of his deck. 'Come on deck, speak to me. Guide me to victory.'

Taiwa draws his card with his eyes closed before he opens them slowly.

'I got it!' Taiwa thinks as he plays his turn in his mind before playing a monster card. "I summon Echo-Lancer Treble."

A purple mechanical lion appears on the field as it roars. (1500 Atk)

"Then I play the card I had face down since my second turn, Sound Down Revival!" Taiwa says as a trap card opens on the field. "I choose one monster on my field and lower its level by 1 to special summon 2 monsters from my graveyard until the end phase. I choose Ampli-Flyer and Resonance."

A shocked expression comes over Mikomi's face as the two monsters reappear on the field. (1100 Atk) (1400 Atk)

"But you can't attack with the monsters you revive this turn so what good are they to you against my Medium?" Mikomi asks trying to quell her nervousness.

"Wait...I'm not done yet, I activate the effect of Whisper's effect from the graveyard."

"What?"

"I send one card on my field to the top of my deck so I can special summon it. So I send the face down Supersonic to the top of my deck to revive my monster!"

The mechanical mouse reappears in attack position next to the others. (300 Atk)

'He's going to-.'

"Now I tune my level 1 Whisper to Ampli-Flyer and Treble." Taiwa says as Whisper turns into one giant green ring that encompasses both monsters until they disintegrate into 5 stars. "The hush of the enemy lurks in the shadows. Drown them out with your overpowering will."

A beam of light strikes through them. "Synchro summon! Reveal yourself Deafening Droid!"

A giant machine with speakers mounted on its shoulders emerges from the light. (2600 Atk)

Mikomi stays silent looking up at the machine ready for what was next.

"Remember this guy from our last duel?" Taiwa says with a grin as Mikomi just gives an angry expression. "Of course you do, but you didn't get to see its effect. My droid allows me to take one other Echo-Lancer monster on my field and absorb its attack points. And I choose Resonance."

With the order a hatch in Deafening Droid's chest opens as a wire unravels the floor. Resonance grabs the end of the wire and attaches it to a port on its chest. A yellow energy surrounds Resonance before it transfers through the wire to Deafening Droid. The increase in power causes the monster to let out a roar. (4000 Atk)

'4000 attack?' Mikomi thinks to herself as she is shocked. 'How...how did I lose...I had him.'

"I told you, nothing would come in between me and saving my friend. Let this attack be proof of that." Taiwa says as he points to the Medium. "Go Deaf Wave!"

The volume meters on the machine's chest begin to glow and increase until the speakers blast an enormous sound wave that barrels towards the Medium. The wave engulfs the woman and spirit as they let out a screech before disintegrating. The wave then continues to Mikomi who just stands there as she takes the attack. (Mikomi: 1650 - 0 LP)

Mikomi falls on both knees as she cant believe she lost. The holograms from the duel discs cease as Taiwa takes it off and walks up to the officer. His shadow overshadows her as she looks up at him.

"You ready to answer my questions?" Taiwa asks as he stretches his hand out to help her up.

Mikomi turns to the side and spits before getting up on her own power.

"Ask away..." Mikomi says trying to keep her pride.

"Is Yusha in there?"

"I have contacts that have reason to believe he is. But I'm not 100% sure." Mikomi answers.

Taiwa looks away a little disappointed by the nature and uncertainty of the news. Frustrated, Taiwa walks toward his D-Wheel prepared to go to the detention center.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Mikomi asks which Taiwa doesn't even acknowledge. "How do you expect to get in?"

"I'll find a way..." Taiwa responds as he puts his helmet on and revs the engine.

Mikomi runs in front of the parked D-Wheel.

"Or you can just ask me." Mikomi says.

Taiwa confused by the statement stops the engine and takes his helmet off.

"Why would you help me?"

"After our first duel, I gathered some information on you and your friend while I was in the hospital." Mikomi explains which catches Taiwa off guard. "But there were a lot of holes in your story. You guys have been friends since Duel Academy. And after our two encounters I don't believe you were behind your friend's disappearance."

"Finally." Taiwa says with a sigh which annoys Mikomi.

"So...I need to find out what is going on, and the superiors in their may be able to help."

"Ok, so how do we get in?"

"Leave that up to me."

A few minutes later...

Mikomi is seen walking through the compost yard going towards the gate of the detention center. She is dragging an "unconscious" Taiwa as his arm is laced over the back of her neck.

"There was another thing that didn't make sense in both of your profiles." Mikomi whispers as she continues to walk. "You and Yusha were in Duel Academy...and you were both chosen to duel one another during the graduation ceremony."

One of Taiwa's eyes cracks open as he hears where the officer is going with this.

"So what exactly happened? There is no record of what happened during that duel."

Flashes of the duel appear in his head as the rest appears fuzzy in his mind.

"Rather not talk about it."

"Oh come on, what happened?" Mikomi asks again persistently. "Ok, you don't trust me. So ask me anything about myself and I'll answer it, then you'll tell me what happened."

"...Fine..." Taiwa says as he thinks to when he was looking through Mikomi's memories. "Who's Kiritsu?"

Mikomi suddenly stops her trek and drops Taiwa to the floor.

'Ouch...sorry I asked.' Taiwa thinks as he grimaces while trying to play that he's unconscious.

Mikomi walks over to a button next to the door. After a few seconds a voice over the intercom.

"Neo Domino City Detention Center..."

"Yes, this is officer Youmei, I have apprehended the fugitive Taiwa Wakari." Mikomi says, "I need this gate open so I can deliver him personally to the warden."

Inside the center...

"Sir, we have an unexpected visitor." A man says. "What are your orders?"

Another man stands up from his chair in the middle of a big room with monitors on every wall. He walks over to one of the monitors that has a camera on Mikomi and Taiwa.

"Let them in...and bring them to me." the man orders with an evil smile.


End file.
